Kimbuka
Photographs and report by L. Trollope.

2 very moving events were held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan massacre; a time when 1 million Tutsi people died in 100 days at the hands of their erstwhile compatriots and neighbours. The first event, on Thursday, 24 April 2014, was the placing of wreathes in the Memorial Gardens in St John's Gardens, behind St George's Hall in Liverpool. These were placed by the High Commissioner of the Republic of Rwanda, His Excellency, Mr. Williams Nkurunzizi, and by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr. Gary Millar. In attendance also, amongst others, were the Commissioner's wife; the Young Mayor, James Douglas and Philomene Uwamaliya, now a lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, who recently received the Kimbuka flame of Remembrance when it arrived in Liverpool. The above were joined by others at a service, held in the Town Hall immediately afterwards including the High Sheriff of Merseyside; MP for Liverpool, West Derby, Stephen Twigg; representatives of the Rwandan community and children from the Schools' councils of Liverpool schools and members of the schools' staff. A candle was lit by Philomene Uwamaliya, herself a survivor of those awful times. There was a one minute silence and prayer, led by The Chaplain to the Lord Mayor, The Reverend John S Williams. Two musical items were included: Michael Kiragu played 'Sweet Hour of Prayer' and Satoko Tanigawa Ball gave us 'Gabriel's Oboe' by Ennio Morricone. A short DVD was shown, of survivors speaking about their experiences. Mr Steven Twigg, MP, later called for every school in Liverpool to receive a copy for teaching purposes, and to fund this himself if necessary. Also attendees listened intently whilst one speaker after another told of their experiences and of how lives had been affected by the tragedy or, as the young Mayor reflected, how the tragedy of one group affects us all. Kimbuka, means Remember, Never again. And all spoke in different ways of the need to keep the memory of what transpired alive and to learn from it; to try to comprehend what had led to the massacre and to try to prevent its re-occurrence. All too often humanity is shocked by what happens at these violent events but appropriate action which might have prevented it has not always been taken. It is essential that these things are not denied but become the focus for education, especially of the young. The challenge was given to go out and instigate discussion in the hope that in the future, preventative action can be taken to counteract prejudice and the reviving of old grievances. It was also said that it is essential that people speak out when they are aware of bullying or intimidation, notifying the authorities to help stop it if need be. The High Commissioner also alluded to other aspects of the genocide times, the rape and deliberate infection of 250,000 women with Aids and of the 250,000 babies born HIV positive because of this. Despite all this Rwandans had been determined not to remain a 'basket case nation’; had chosen not to segregate, but to face the future together; victims and perpetrators. This is proving successful as the economy is growing, health improving and education expanding steadily. It was and inspiring and chastening service which presented all with a big challenge.

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